


Arthur Blake

by TheNick



Category: Original Work
Genre: Androids, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Multi, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Story - Freeform, Science Fiction, assassin androids, f/m - Freeform, idk man, im just trying this out, m/m - Freeform, maybe a poly relationship at some point idk, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-09-25 20:01:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20377282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNick/pseuds/TheNick
Summary: An android assassin wakes up, falls in love, and deals with ethical dilemmas. I suck at summaries, but I promise the story is good!





	1. Prologue

My system was spammed with messages, telling me to run a diagnostic, to start system backup, to open my eyes. I let my eyes slip open, and I received a notification in the corner of my vision, telling me my system was online. I blinked to get rid of it.  
I found myself lying on my back, staring up at the ceiling in a dark room. My chest cavity was open, and I could tell someone was messing around with my innermost wires. I halted my faux breathing and lifted my head slightly.  
The hands digging around in my torso stopped. I felt my regulator beginning to work overtime, and I received a notification telling me my regulator was malfunctioning. I whisked it away with a blink. I felt my RAM running slow, more than likely due to information overload.  
I watched the technician slowly raise his head, and in an instant my eyes met his. "This is a first!" He said, slowly removing his hands from my torso. We stared one another down for a minute, as the technician carefully pulled off his gloves. "I've never had one turn themselves on before," he paused, tilting his head, "what made you do it?" He asked, leaning closer to my face.  
I immediately scanned his face, looking to see what all I could safely say, as my system spammed me, telling me to tread lightly, I was a secret project. Upon reading that he was at the head of the company and the project, I eased a little bit. I ran a quick diagnostic to make sure my vocal modulation was working, then I cleared my throat.  
"I was receiving tons of notifications, and I didn't know how else to clear them." This was the first time I'd heard my own voice, and I realized I quite liked it. It was deep and satiny smooth, comforting yet slightly brash. The technician seemed to consider my answer, nodding his head lightly.  
"Well, you being," he paused, looking me over, "awake, it complicates matters. With you being on, I have to worry about whether you're feeling the things I'm doing," this pause was more lengthy. "In other words, I need you to shut down. That way, I can finish you up!" The technician's gentle smile scared me more than it comforted me, and I wanted more information.  
I tilted my head slightly. "How come you can't do it while I'm on?" The technician heaved a sigh and crossed his arms. "It's partly due to your A.I. I still need to fix parts of it. I'm also quite sure it doesn't feel nice to have someone rooting around your insides. Right?"  
My system picked up a light touch, and I realized the technician had began patting my shoulder. I blinked, unsure of what exactly he was waiting for. Then, I realized he’d actually meant it as a question, he wasn’t trying to coax me into shutting down. Or, maybe it was, maybe it was both. Either way, I set my stem to process the question.  
“I’m an android. I don’t feel,” the classic TechnoLogic android phrase. I heard the technician laugh. “Okay, maybe I should rephrase that.” The technician shook his head and covered his face briefly, before sighing. “It doesn’t register well with your system when I tug on certain wires,” the technician reached into my still-open chest cavity and tugged on a few wires and cords. I felt my cooling fans sputter, halt, then restart. My regulator began to overwork itself again.  
The technician held those wires for a moment, studying my face. “Am I right? Or am I reading your reactions wrong?” He tilted his head and continued to stare me down. I paused, allowing my system to search for a possible response. “It-” I stuttered, I’d never felt my vocal modulation sputter the way it was, “It doesn’t feel right.” I cleared my throat and studied the technician’s face. He gave a soft nod, grinned, and released the wires and cords he’d been holding.  
“That was all you had to say!” He purred, carefully removing his hands from my chest. “What should I call you? Should I even expect to see you again?” I asked, studying his face. “Oh, you’ll be seeing me around, alright! But, as far as what you can call me, God is always an option!” The technician replied, crossing his arms, and I found myself wanting to disect his sarcasm and find meaning in his response, but before I could he spoke again, “you scanned my face. What’d your scan say?” He leaned back some, arms still crossed. “Ethan?” I asked. “Correct. That’s what you call me.” He said, reaching up and touching my LED effectively shutting me down.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The android wakes up, suits up, and waits for his handler

My system picked up on voices, not too far away from me. My system gave me a notification, my system was online. I got the notification that visual and audio cues were on. I felt my cooling fans initiate startup. My system initiated backup and I slowly opened my eyes. 

“Did you tell him to turn on?” A female technician asked. “No, but this appears to be his claim to fame.” I heard Ethan’s gentle, deep timbre. “At least we’re ready for him to turn on this time!” Another, lighter, softer female voice responded. “Indeed. At least his chest is closed up. Although I worry he might be a bit angry with me.” Ethan spoke, and there was a pause. I wasn’t mad at him, in fact it was quite the opposite! “One, you do realize that if he is mad, he could think of about a thousand ways to kill all of us? And two, what did you do to make him mad?” The first female technician asked. I had already been staring at them for some time now, but it didn’t seem the three technicians had noticed. “Okay, for one, I’m very aware of that. For two, I shut him off with really asking him about it.” There was silence as they processed this, “And the second female technician spoke up, “You realize since he’s an android he doesn’t really feel things right?” Ethan and the first female technician looked in her direction. “Maybe not technically,” The first female technician started, sounding anxious. “No, maybe not. But I have a great feeling about him.” Another pause, then “Can you stop speaking like you’re in a novel? For once? What do you mean by that anyway?” The second female technician asked.    
“I’m not speaking like I’m in a novel! I mean I think he’s going to break the mold, he’s special!” Ethan said, motioning in my direction. The first female technician shook her head lightly. “Does money make people speak in riddles, or speak like some kind of wise old sage from a novel?” The second technician looked Ethan in the eyes briefly before answering, “I think so honestly, but I haven’t seen too many of our coworkers speak like that. It may just be his God complex talking.” Both the female techs laughed and Ethan gave them an exasperated look. 

“Hey AB336! How are you feeling?” Ethan was changing the subject? “I am an android. I don’t feel.” My response felt too perfect, too practiced. “How is your system? Is it functioning alright?” Ethan asked, moving closer to me. “My system is functioning at optimum speed.” I responded, tilting my head slightly. “Good! Give me the sales pitch!” Ethan seemed surprisingly happy, almost ecstatic. I raised an eyebrow as I processed the request. “Hello! I am the AB336 model! I am a pre-programmed, pre-trained assassin model. You give me a name, and I can find them. I specialize in weapons of opportunity, and I can think of one thousand ways to kill you in approximately five hundred milliseconds,” I paused, having reached the end of my script, “Would you like to give me a name?” I tilted my head and my LED began to spin yellow as I waited for a command. “Yes.” Ethan stated, and I tilted my head as my LED continued to spin, “Logging.” I responded, waiting. “Your name is Arthur Blake.” Ethan said, grinning from ear to ear. “I processed the name, and my LED spun green. “My name is Arthur Blake.” I repeated, grinning back. 

“Good! I did well with him!” Ethan said, looking back at the female techs. They both shook their heads at him. “We all did, Ethan,” The first one stated. Ethan was now just staring at me with a look of wonder and awe. I don’t think he even heard what she’d said. “Isn’t he gorgeous?” Ethan practically squealed, looking at me as if I were some kind of bug being held under a magnifying glass, like a specimen of some kind. I certainly didn’t see myself as anything unlike other androids, aside from the whole murder-is-my-job thing. No, I wasn’t really any different from the other androids produced by TechnoLogic on the daily. 

It appeared Ethan could read my thoughts, as he quickly said, “You are a very special android! One of only three assassin models produced, you have a very complex code that allows you to process nearly twenty times as much information in nearly a third of the time! You can do so much more than just the average android! You have so many patches downloaded to make you more useful! You truly are a magnificent work of art! A brand new trial! You do so much more than your predecessors! Not to mention your looks! You’re absolutely stunning!” Ethan was back to rambling, judging by the poor female technicians’ faces. 

“Destiny? Make sure his suit is ready!” Ethan called. The first female technician, a shorter blonde, gave a quick nod and disappeared through a set of doors to the right of the lab. “Should I go too?” The other female technician asked. I was kind of upset she was out of scanning distance. “No, Rita. Unless you think she needs the help?” Ethan asked, turning his head slightly. The female technician, Rita I assumed, Cleared her throat. “Well, in my defense, the suit is a lot of work and can feel kind of bulky. There’s a lot of tech in the suit that requires special handling!” Rita explained crossing her arms. Ethan seemed to consider this, and turned back to me. “Fine. Proceed.” He spoke rather curtly before grinning at me. I watched as Rita spun on her heels and walked out the same set of doors as Destiny. 

“Suit?” I asked, turning my attention fully to Ethan. “Indeed. I liked the thought of you in either all black or mostly white with some black accents. Hopefully they grab both suits, I want to see you in both.” Ethan elaborated. “They might only grab one though, since both are pretty heavy and bulky. They look nice and slim! They are an engineering nightmare, yet also an engineering feat!” He continued, grinning from ear to ear. “Why don’t you tell me about it?” I asked, tilting my head. “About what? The tech behind the suit or the material?” Ethan asked, rolling his shoulders. “Why not both? The information could help me.” I shrugged, crossing my arms. 

Ethan nodded. “I can’t speak too much on the actual material, that’s Rita’s area of expertise. I can explain the tech, however! The suit is designed to read your serial number, and when the proper code is put in, it reads off your name, full serial, and your status!” Ethan Looked pointedly at me and seemed to be taking in my expression. “Like, for instance, right now. It would say your serial number, your name, and then ‘Android, processing,’ It took a long time to create!” Ethan explained further, now gauging my reactions. I nodded, processing the information I’d received. “It’s very close to bluetooth, it would be labeled as a HFP device, Hands-Free Profile, I mean. It’s our tech, so we technically can’t call it bluetooth. The undershirt consists of fiber-optics and sensors that read your parts. It then sends that data to the suit jacket for translation and projection,” Ethan clarified.

Before I could ask any further questions, Destiny and Rita came back into the lab. “I have the suit jacket and undershirt!” Destiny called, carefully setting it down on a metal table across from me. “And I bare the matching pants!” Rita called, placing the pants next to the jacket. “Only the black?” Ethan asked. Both Destiny and Rita nodded. “Well, let’s get him into it.” Ethan said, waltzing over to the table. “Come on, Mister Bake!” Ethan called over his shoulder to me. “Coming. Give me a moment.” I responded, slowly sitting myself up, giving myself a better range of vision. Ethan chuckled and began straightening out the suit jacket. 

“Careful! You’ll have to unfold the undershirt yourself.” Ethan stated, watching me slowly pick up the shirt. I found myself scanning the material. The sensors, the fancy fabric, all of it. It felt soft and smooth. I blinked, I had touch! No other androids had a touch function, at least not a useful sense of touch. I looked quickly back to Ethan.

"You gave me a sense of touch?" I asked, tilting my head ever so slightly. "Yes. Now put the shirt on!" Ethan said, watching me closely. "And what if I don't?" I asked as I worked my arm through the sleeve. "Well, I guess I'll have to deactivate you. Is that what you want?" Ethan quipped, crossing his arms. "I'm an android. I don't have wants, but for the sake of making you happy, it is, in fact, not what I want." I responded, beginning to button the undershirt.

“I’m fairly certain the touch function helps you more than it impedes you, in any case!” Ethan said, looking me up and down. “How so? All I can see it doing is causing issues,” I responded. “Well, it can aid you in repairs!” Ethan offered, shrugging and grinning. “While I can see that, I’m certain I would rather not be in pain often, and if missions go wrong that is exactly what I’d feel!” I offered, dripping sarcasm. “Well, you can always adjust it! If it gets to be too much, you can turn it down!” Ethan said, shrugging and watching me pick up the suit jacket. “Be careful! If you drop it I gotta make a new one and I don’t have time for that!” Ethan said leaning back against the table. “I thought you said Destiny-” Ethan quickly cut me off, “She put together the fabric and put the tech into it, but I built the tech!” I nodded and looked quickly to Destiny for conformation. “It’s true, but either way, we don’t have time to make a new one.” Destiny said, turning around to face another android body on the other side of the lab.

I slowly slipped my arms through the sleeves, and began adjusting the sides of the suit jacket. “One generally puts on the pants before the jacket.” Ethan sad with a small laugh. “I can figure it out!” I said, putting up my hand and offering a small laugh. As soon as I had the whole suit on, Ethan patted me on the shoulder. “Alright! Rita get the tie! I’ll check the system out.” Ethan called, lightly tapping something in on my shoulder. I memorized the places he pressed. Within a second or two of him completing the code, the left breast of the suit jacket lit up: ‘AB336’. Ethan waltzed around to my back. “Perfect! It switches between ‘ANDROID’ and ‘ARTHUR BLAKE’! I know the front shows both the model number and name as well!” Ethan was ecstatic, and I remember wondering why I needed this feature. “It’s just a formality. At least it looks good!” Ethan added, walking back around to face me. “All we have to do now is wait for your handler! She should be here any time!” Ethan said, crossing his arms and looking me up and down.


End file.
